HIGHLIGHTS

The bilateral meet is expected to focus on trade, defence, education among other areas

Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally received Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in New Delhi today. Trudeau arrived in India last week along with his family and has spent the last few days visiting Agra, Ahmedabad, Amritsar and Mumbai.

Today, PM Trudeau was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan where he inspected a guard of honour and met Indian officials.

Soon after the Rashtrapati Bhavan welcome, PM Trudeau and his family visited Rajghat to pay respects at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial.

Trudeau is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with PM Narendra Modi later in the day.

The Canadian premier's perceived closeness to pro-Khalistani elements in Canada has continued to haunt his Indian visit.

Trudeau's visit was further engulfed in controversy yesterday after photos surfaced of his wife Sophie standing alongside Jaspat Atwal, a former Khalistani terrorist convicted of attempting to murder an Indian politician in 1986 in Canada.

Late Thursday, PM Narendra Modi, who had been mum about Trudeau's visit until then, finally welcomed him with a tweet.

"I appreciate his deep commitment to ties between our two countries," he said.

Trudeau's India tour began mired in a rather frosty welcome accorded to him, with both Indian and Canadian media noting how Modi has been far from ebullient in his reaction to Trudeau's visit.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRUDEAU VISIT IN 10 POINTS:

1

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the national capital today.

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With the visit already shrouded with his amity with pro-Khalistan groups in Canada, visiting PM Justin Trudeau's Indian tour plunged into a major controversy on Thursday, when a convicted Khalistani terrorist was invited to a reception hosted for him at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi.

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Fire fighting the row timely, the invite to Jaspal Atwal (a former Khalistani terrorist), who was convicted in Canada for an attempt to assassinate a Punjab minister in 1986, was rescinded by the High Commission.

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The same day, Justin Trudeau addressed the media on the sidelines of a business event and said that the matter was being taken "extremely seriously" and that Atwal should never have received an invitation.

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Jaspal Atwal's presence at the Mumbai event and a subsequent dinner invite at the Canadian High Commission also raised questions on how a Khalistani terrorist was granted an Indian visa to begin with.

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With his first official visit to India yielding bilateral investments worth over $1 billion, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday cheered, "This two-way investment will create 6,000 high-quality jobs in Canada and many more jobs here [India], as well."

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Addressing the India Canada Business Session in New Delhi, the Canadian PM noted that agriculture and food processing are major areas for Indo-Canadian ties and that bilateral cooperation is underway in creating a cold chain infrastructure in India and setting up mega food parks in the country could be the next area.

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Setting aside India's apprehensions with his apparent closeness with Khalistan sympathisers, Justin Trudeau at a Mumbai event, earlier in the week assured that Canada supports a united India.

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After his meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday was quoted as saying that Trudeau assured him that concerns about Khalistan sentiments would be looked into.

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The Trudeaus have so far visited the Taj Mahal in Agra, Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Golden Temple in Amritsar and Jama Masjid in New Delhi on Thursday, as part of their last leg of the tour.